Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)– Branch 2 of the Shirvan Prosecutor’s Office announced on Tuesday, October 16th that Taleb Govahi, a defendant on a murder case who has been detained in Shirvan Prison since the crime, has been sentenced to death.

An informed source told to HRANA that Gohavi, a 40-year old married resident of Shirvan county, North Khorasan province, was convicted of killing a car dealer in a 2016 skirmish. “He has denied at all stages of his trial that the murder was premeditated, and claimed he was defending himself against the victim, who also had a cold weapon.”

According to Amnesty International’s annual report, Iran ranks first in the world in executions per capita. According to registered data from the Statistics, Publications, and Achievements Division of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI), at least 256 citizens were executed in Iran between October 10, 2017, and October 9, 2018, 15 of which were public hangings. Sixty-eight percent of executions, referred to as “secret executions,” are not announced by the state or Judiciary.